NYE: Light Up the Sky is set to return for a second performance on December 31, 2021.
Last New Year’s Eve Liverpool became the first and only council to provide residents with a Covid-friendly fireworks display – the second largest celebration in NSW, following the Sydney Harbour fireworks.
With the return of NYE: Light Up the Sky, there will be simultaneous fireworks displays across multiple sites.
The goal is to reach the homes and driveways of more than half of the residents across the region.
Mayor of Liverpool Wendy Waller said the beauty of NYE: Light Up the Sky is that celebrations can continue regardless of the Public Health Order in place at the time.
“Understandably, there is still a level of uncertainty of what the roadmap for NSW looks like after we reach the vaccination targets and into the latter months of this year,” she said.
“However, council is showing what can be done with some innovation and creativity and is leading the way for Covid safe events in a post-lockdown environment.”
Mayor Waller expressed Council’s strong commitment to providing a celebration for residents across South Western Sydney who have lived through some of the toughest Covid-19 restrictions in the state.
“Our residents have borne more than their fair share of restrictions and it’s time for us to reconnect as a community, albeit in a safe way, to ring in 2022,’’ she said.
“We received such wonderful feedback from the community for our inaugural event that it was a no-brainer to run a similar event this year.
“This year’s event will capture all the sentiment of New Year’s Eve along with the resilience, positivity, and community spirit that has defined our community during these unprecedented and challenging times.’’
Similar to last year, the event will also include an online component with livestreamed footage from the firing sites beaming out onto Liverpool Council’s social media platforms.
Council is now looking for sponsorship from businesses to further elevate this great event and ensure the whole community get to be a part of the celebrations.
Businesses interested in sponsoring NYE: Light Up the Sky need to contact council’s events team by sending an email to events@liverpool.nsw.gov.au to request a copy of the sponsorship prospectus.
I want to enjoy New Year’s Eve as much as the next person and God knows we deserve it! But I don’t for one minute think that 10 minutes of joy is worth the long-term suffering of animals affected by fireworks.
Research shows that fireworks have a profound effect on wildlife. The noise of firecrackers can cause birds tachycardia and even death by fright. Birds and small mammals will abandon their nests in fear, they can become disorientated and never return to their homes. As a result, their babies could face starvation or fall victim to predators. Disorientation and panic from fireworks can cause birds to crash into buildings or fly towards the sea.
Wildlife shelters notice an uptick in calls as animals flee into roadways to escape the perceived danger.
The debris left behind from the fireworks can entangle wildlife and poison them if ingested. Chemicals in the fireworks add toxins to the air and water that humans and animals both inhale and drink.
Fireworks propel a cocktail of chemicals into the atmosphere, many of which can harm both people and the environment. The vivid colours in firework displays come from metallic compounds such as barium or aluminium that can have negative impacts on animal and human health.
Additionally, to produce the oxygen needed for an explosion, many fireworks contain oxidisers known as perchlorates. These can dissolve in water, contaminating rivers, lakes and drinking water.
The hearing of many animals is much more sensitive than it is in humans, so the explosions of fireworks are not only more disturbing to them, but they can damage their hearing more severely. Fireworks can emit sounds of up to 190 decibels (110 to 115 decibels above the range of 75 to 80 decibels where the damage to the human ear begins). Fireworks generate a higher noise level than firecrackers, gunshots (140 decibels), and some jet planes (100 decibels).
Dogs are able to hear up to 60,000hz, while humans can’t hear anything above 20,000hz, which is only a third of the capacity of dogs. They show signs of overwhelming anxiety and are known to suffer irreversible hearing loss.
It is estimated that one-fifth of disappearances of companion animals are due to very loud sounds, mainly fireworks and storms.